Assam's 'Shiksha Setu' Project Bags PM’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration

The Assam government has been honoured with the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2024 for its landmark educational initiative 'Shiksha Setu, Axom' under the ‘Innovation – State’ category. The award was conferred by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Civil Services Day celebrations held on April 21.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed his heartfelt congratulations to the entire state education team for this significant achievement. He remarked that the award is a testament to Assam’s unwavering commitment to reforming and strengthening its education system through innovation and digital integration.

The Shiksha Setu application is a comprehensive digital platform designed to streamline educational administration across the state. It provides detailed and centralised information on schools, students, and staff, and functions as an all-in-one digital resource to support daily academic and administrative operations. Through its smart integration of data and services, the platform is enhancing transparency, improving accountability, and ensuring better decision-making in Assam’s education sector.

While the state celebrates its win in public administration, another feather was added to Assam’s cap with the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) achieving a remarkable milestone in the financial year 2024–25. The auction centre sold tea worth Rs 3,850 crore, marking its highest-ever turnover in its 52-year history.

According to Dinesh Bihani, Secretary of the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre Buyers Association, GTAC saw a significant jump in sales compared to the previous year. In FY 2023–24, the centre sold 166.34 million kg of tea amounting to Rs 3,048 crore, with an average price of Rs 183.21 per kg. In contrast, during FY 2024–25, GTAC sold 169.13 million kg of tea at an average price of Rs 227.70 per kg, resulting in total sales of Rs 3,850 crore—a whopping Rs 800 crore increase.

“This is the highest tea sale recorded in the history of GTAC,” Bihani stated, emphasising the impressive performance despite an overall shortfall in Assam’s tea production by 60–70 million kg during the same period. He credited the record-breaking figures to the strong demand and improved pricing structure at the auction.

The surge in tea prices has had a positive ripple effect across the tea-growing community, especially benefiting small-scale tea growers. As Bihani explained, higher auction prices mean better returns for green leaf suppliers. “The increased price at GTAC directly uplifts the market rate for green leaves, which significantly boosts income for the small tea growers of the state,” he added.

Both the Shiksha Setu success and GTAC’s historic performance reflect Assam’s strides in governance and economic progress. While the state leverages technology to transform education, its tea sector continues to make bold strides, bringing growth and prosperity to thousands of workers and entrepreneurs across the region.